ELON, N.C. - Sophomore righthander Tyler Austin and freshman righthander Mike Bronakoski combined to pitch a seven-hitter as the Tigers (1-1) handed North Carolina A&T (1-1) an 8-1 loss in the second round of the Elon University Classic at Latham Park on Saturday afternoon.

Making his first start of the season, Austin was dominant as he pitched six shutout innings and scattered four hits to pick up his first victory of the season. In six innings of work, he struck out 12 batters and did not issue any walks. In the first four innings, he struck out nine of the first 11 batters he faced.

Bronakoski pitched the final three innings and earned a save in his first college appearance. He allowed one run on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

"Tyler Austin pitched very well," said Coach Mike Gottlieb. "He threw three pitches for strikes and his changeup was every effective. There were several curveballs he threw where their hitters had no chance."

The Tigers provided Austin with all the offensive support he would need in the first inning, staking him to a 3-0 lead before he took the mound. A two-out single by junior second baseman Chris Wychock preceded a two-run homer by senior centerfielder Kevin Collins down the rightfield line, giving Towson a 2-0 lead. Junior third baseman Austin Harclerode followed with a single to right centerfield. He advanced to third base on a double by senior first baseman Steve Yarsinsky and came around to score on an error by leftfielder Andre McCoy.

Wychock gave the Tigers a 4-0 lead when he belted a solo home run to left field in the third inning. In the sixth inning, Harclerode gave Towson a 5-0 advantage when he led off with a  homer to centerfield.

The Tigers extended their lead to 6-0 in the seventh inning when freshman catcher Andrew Parker led off with a double. It was the first hit of Parker's college career. Moments later, he scored on an RBI single by sophomore rightfielder Ben Winter.

Trailing by 6-0 in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Aggies finally broke through against Tiger pitching. Shortstop Mark Nales led off with a double, the Aggies' only extra base hit of the game. He advanced to third base on an infield ground ball and scored the only run of the game when Xavier Macklin grounded out to shortstop.

The Tigers scored two more runs in the ninth inning to put the game out of reach. Winter and Wychock led off the inning by drawing back-to-back walks. Both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch. Winter scored to make it 7-1 when Collins reached on an error. Harclerode's RBI single enabled to Wychock to score and give Towson an 8-1 lead. Towson proceeded to load the bases before Brent Moore pitched out of the jam.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Bronakoski retired the first two hitters before allowing back-to-back base hits. However, he retired Nales on a ground ball to second base to end the game.

Harclerode led the Tigers' 12-hit attack as he went 3-for-5 with two RBI's. Junior shortstop Nick Natoli and Wychock each had two base hits while Wychock scored three runs.

The Tigers, who are playing their first 15 games on the road, close out play in the Elon Classic on Sunday afternoon when they face Ohio University at 12:00 noon.

TIGER TIDBITS: Austin struck out the side in the first inning and the third inning as he upped his career record to 4-1 ... North Carolina A&T used seven pitchers in the game ... For the second game in a row, the Tigers played errorless baseball ... Collins' two-run homer in the first inning was the 20^th roundtripper of his college career ... He led the Tigers with three RBI's in the win ... In addition to 12 hits, the Tigers drew seven walks against North Carolina A&T pitching ... After two games, Wychock leads the Tigers with a .571 batting average ... Parker, an All-Metro catcher at Cardinal Gibbons High School, made his first collegiate start and was 1-for-4 ... He also recorded 14 putouts, thanks to Austin's 12 strikeouts and two by Bronakoski.